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LEXICON INDEXING MACHINE Filed Feb. 28, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 6

loam/s Papayannopou/os INVENTOK BY ym 3% Fig. 7 26 United States Patent 3,302,513 LEXICON INDEXING MACHINE Ioannis Papayannopoulos, 53 Pandanasis, Patras, Achaia, Greece Filed Feb. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 348,240 13 Claims. (Cl. 88-24) This invention relates to a system and apparatus for indexing information, and more particularly to the visual display of definitions or meanings of different words and terms.

The apparatus of the present invention therefore constit-utes a visual type of dictionary whereby stored information is made available rapidly and in a convenient form. It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a projection type of apparatus in which information is stored and indexed for rapid and convenient display under selective control of the operator or one seeking information from the apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and system involving a coded input selector assembly by means of which the definition of a word or other pertinent information may be rapidly displayed by means of a projector from a relatively large storage of information on film.

These together with other objects and advantages which Will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating the apparatus of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial elevational view of the selector assembly.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial view of the optical film utilized in the apparatus.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the working components of the apparatus.

FIGURE 5 is a work flow diagram illustrating the general principles of the present invention.

FIGURE '6 is an electrical circuit diagram associated with the apparatus of the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged partial sectional view of a portion of the selector assembly.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be observed that the lexicon index apparatus of the present invention is generally refered to by reference numeral 10 and is enclosed within a housing 12 the front face 14 of which exposes adjacent the upper portion thereof, a semitransparent screen 16 while disposed therebelow is a' selector panel assembly 18 having a plurality of movable key elements 20. Also disposed on the front face 14 below the selector assembly 18, is a film advancing motor control 22 and a rewind control 24. An on-off switch 26 is also provided.

The selector assembly 18 provides facilities whereby information may be sought in connection with a word such as the defininition thereof. Accordingly, where the word is based upon the assemblage of characters or letters from an alphabet, each of the letters may correspond to or label a plurality of parallel vertical columns as more clearly shown in FIGURE 2 with the selector keys being disposed or positioned in different vertical rows. Accordingly, each of the keys 20 will be slidably mounted for horizontal displacement from a position on the extreme left of the selector assembly to a position beneath one of the letters. The keys are therefore numbered from the top down corresponding to the position of a letter in the Word, the definition of which is being sought. For example, the word coded by the arrangement of the keys in the pattern illustrated in FIGURE 2, would be image.

Inasmuch as the exemplary word involves only five letters, only the first five keys 20 are utilized. The remainder of the keys are therefore left in the extreme left hand column which is an inoperative column. It should also be appreciated, that although the illustrated selector assembly will accommodate words of no more than ten letters, the present invention contemplates enlargement of the facilities of the apparatus when constructed with selector assemblies having a larger number of keys and also in connection with languages involving different numbers and systems of characters. The essential feature of the selector assembly however is the preselection of a pattern corresponding to a word for which the definition is being sought. Accordingly, each of the keys 20 is connected to a photo-sensing element 28 as more clearly seen in FIGURE 7 whereby these photo-sensing elements may be selectively arranged in a pattern preselected in order to coincide with one of the film frames 30 appearing on the information bearing film 32 as more clearly seen in FIG- URE 3. The film 32 may be in the form of any standard size movie film on which a plurality of spaced frames appear and through which a photographed image may be projected. Each of the frames 30 is however divided into two portions consisting of an upper portion 34 on which a Written definition is photographed corresponding to one of the words for which such definitions are available. The lower portion 36 of the frame on the other hand, bears the coded indicia in the form of a plurality of transparent spots 38 arranged in a preselected pattern corresponding to the word definition appearing thereabove, in accordance with the coding system hereinbefore described with respect to FIGURE 2. In the example illustrated in FIGURE 3, it will therefore be observed that the transparent spots 38 on the film portion 36 are arranged in a pattern which is identical to the pattern of keys 20 to which the selector assembly has been set as illustrated in FIGURE 2 so that in this manner, the drive of the film 32 may be stopped by means of an optical signal so as to produce the projection and display of the written definition photographed on the portion 34 of the film on the display screen 16. Use of the apparatus will therefore be apparent from the foregoing. Thus, the selector assembly 18 may be conditioned so as to obtain the defintion of a given word and the device then turned on by the switch 26. The display of the word definition is then obtained by actuating the film advancing motor control 22 whereupon the definition of the word appears on the screen 16 after a short delay. The apparatus may be restored to its initial start condition by actuating the rewind control 24.

The apparatus of the present invention therefore involves a system as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG- URE 5 wherein information is stored in a film storage 40 and fed through a projector 42 for display of a portion thereof. The port-ion of the information stored in the storage 40 desired, is obtained through the film selector 44 which is operative in conjunction with the projected information to sense the desired portion of the information through the coded pickup 46 producing an output signal which is amplified by the amplifier 48. The signal thus dispatched from the amplifier is operative through a strop mechanism 50, to stop movement of the information through the projector in order to permit display of the desired portion of the information. FIG- URE 4 illustrates one practical method for carrying out the system described with respect to FIGURE 5.

The enclosure 12 of the apparatus as shown by dotted lines in FIGURE 4, therefore constitutes a light-tight enclosure within which there is operatively mounted a film storage reel 52 from which the film 32 is advanced by means of any suitable film advancing mechanism 54 onto the film spool 56. The film advancing mechanism 54 may therefore be driven by any suitable yieldable drive mechanism 58 adapted to be intermittently held by the holding detent device 60 and held stationary upon energization of a film stopping solenoid 62. Drive is imparted to the film advancing drive 58 by the film advancing motor 64 which is operatively connected to the electrical powerlines 66 by the start switch 22. Drivingly connected to the storage reel 52 for rewinding purposes, is the film return or rewind motor 67 operatively connected to the electrical powerlines 66 by the rewind switch 24. Thus, the film may be advanced or rewound by selective energization of the motor 64 or 66 with the film moving through the film guide 68 between the projection lamp assembly 70 and the projection lens 72. Accordingly, when the film 32 is being advanced by the motor 64, the projection lamp assembly 70 will be operati ye to project the information on the film frames 30 onto the display screen 16 and the rear portion of the selector assembly 18. The screen 16 will therefore produce an enlarged image of the portion 34 on each film frame bearing the written definition of a word while the light transmitted through the coded portion 36 of the film frame will impinge upon the rear portion of the selector assembly 18 so that the photosensing elements 28 may be exposed to said light. When the light rays transmitted through the coded portion 3-6 of the film frame coincides with the arrangement of the photo-sensing elements 28 as preselected on the selector assembly, a signal is transmitted to the film stopping solenoid 62 after being amplified by the amplifier 74 electrically connected to the selector assembly 18 and to the powerline 66. Thus, movement of the film will stop so that the projected image of the film frame producing this stoppage, may be visually displayed on the screen 16. Drive of the film prior to stoppage is however so rapid that the information being projected will not be discernible to the human eye. Thus, the rapidity with which the film is advanced will not only prevent display of unintended information, but will also more rapidly produce the stoppage signal so that the apparatus may more quickly respond to the control of the operator.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, it will be observed that the powerlines 66 are electrically connected in parallel to the film advancing motor 64 and the projection lamp 70 for simultaneous ener-gization thereof upon closing of the start switch 2. Closure of the rewind switch 24 on the other hand, will be operative to energize only the rewind motor 67 in order to return the film to its initial position. The powerlines 66 are also connected to the primary of the power transformer 76 having a plurality of secondaries including the secondary 78 constituting the power source for the heater elements of the thermionic tubes of the three-stage amplifier 74 the input '80 of which is capacitively coupled to the series connected photo-sensing elements 2 8. The output of the threestage amplifier 74 is inductively coupled by the transformer 82 to the stopping .solenoid 62 operative when energized to actuate the stop element 84 thereby engageable with the projection on the film advancing drive 58. The series connected photo-sensing elements 28 are also connected by the resistor 86 to the output of a rectifier circuit 88 having a pair of secondary sections associated with the transformer 76, a filter network 90 also being connected to the photo-sensing circuit and the signal output circuit of the amplifier. It will therefore be apparent, that upon closing of the start switch 26, power will be supplied to the heater elements of the amplifier so as to render it operative while rectified current will be supplied to the photo-sensing elements in order to establish a predetermined signal current when all of the elements are rendered operative upon receipt of light energy from the projector. The signal current will therefore be fed into the amplifier through line 80 so as to establish an amplified output in the primary of the output transformer 82 necessary to produce an energizing current in the stopping solenoid 62. This condition occurs however only when all of the photo-sensing elements 28 receive light through a film portion 36 the transparent spots 38 of which correspond to the selectively arranged pattern of the photo cell units 28. The film advancing drive will then be stopped so that the image transferred to the screen 1-6 may be viewed. The film must therefore be prepared pursuant to the instructive principles hereinbefore set forth and be driven at a relatively rapid rate either by any sprocket reel drive or by any other suitable frictional drive mechanism. It will therefore also be appreciated that a large amount of information may be stored within the apparatus of the present invention and that any portion thereof may be rapidly and conveniently displayed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modficatio'ns and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. Apparatus for obtaining the definition of words comprising; visual display means for displaying written intelligence, information record means bearing said written intelligence and coded indicia corresponding thereto, movable means operably mounting said information record means for transfer of the written intelligence to the visual display means, selectively movable sensing means rendered operative by the visual display means during said transfer of the written intelligence for scanning the coded indicia on the information record means and control means responsive to said transfer of written intelligence to the visual display means for rendering the same operative to display only written intelligence corresponding to the coded indicia selected by movement of the selectively movable sensing means.

2. Apparatus for obtaining the definition of words comprising, visual display means, information record means bearing coded indicia and written intelligence corresponding thereto, movable means operably mounting said information record means for transfer of the Written intelligence to the visual display means, selectively movable sensing means rendered operative by the visual display means during said transfer of the written intelligence for scanning the coded indicia on the information record means and control means responsive to said transfer of written intelligence to the visual display means for displaying only written intelligence corresponding to the coded indicia selected by the selectively movable sensing means, said information record means comprising optical film means having a plurality of spaced frames thereon, each frame consisting of a projection portion from which the written intelligence is transferred and an optical signal transmitting portion from which the coded indicia is derived in the form of preselected pattern of light rays.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said visual display means comprises optical projection means simultaneously projecting said written intelligence and coded indicia on the information record means, and a display screen operatively positioned relative to the projection means to restrictively display only the written intelligence.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said selectively movable sensing means comprises, a plurality of photosensing elements interconnected in series to establish 'a signal when all of the same are illuminated by the visual display means, and means movably mounting said elements for arrangement in a pre-selected pattern in operative relation to the visual display means to sense the coded indicia selected.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said control means comprises, signal amplifying means operatively connected to the selectively movable sensing means for receipt of a signal therefrom, and means operatively connected to the amplifying means and the movable means for stopping movement of the information record means upon receipt of said signal to permit display of the written intelligence by the visual display means.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said movable means comprises, film advancing means rendered operative simultaneously with said visual display means for transfer of information at a rate of speed precluding human perception, and rewind means rendered operative independently of the visual display means following dis play of information to restore the apparatus to a start condition.

7. Apparatus for obtaining the definition of words comprising, visual display means, information record means bean'ng coded indicia and written intelligence corresponding thereto, movable means operably mounting said information record means for transfer of the written intelligence to the visual display means, selectively movable sensing means rendered operative by the visual display means during said transfer of the written intelligence for scanning the coded indicia on the information record means and control means responsive to said transfer of written intelligence to the visual display means for displaying only written intelligence corresponding to the coded indicia selected by the selectively movable sensing means, said visual display means comprising optical projection means simultaneously projecting said written intelligence and coded indicia on the information record means, and a display screen operatively positioned relative to the projection means to restrictively display only the written intelligence.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein said selectively movable sensing means comprises, a plurality of photosensing elements interconnected in series to establish a signal when all of the same are illuminated by the visual display means, and means movably mounting said elements for arrangement in a pre-selected pattern in operative relation to the visual display means to sense the coded indicia selected.

9. Apparatus for obtaining the definition of words comprising, visual display means, information record means bearing coded indicia and written intelligence corresponding thereto, movable means operably mounting said information record means for transfer of the written intelligence to the visual display means, selectively movable sensing means rendered operative by the visual display means during said transfer of the written intelligence for scanning the coded indicia on the information record means and control means responsive to said transfer of written intelligence to the visual display means for displaying only written intelligence corresponding to the coded indicia selected by the selectively movable sensing means, said control means comprising, signal amplifying means operatively connected to the selectively movable sensing means for receipt of a signal therefrom, and means operatively connected to the amplifying means and the movable means for stopping movement of the information record means upon receipt of said signal to permit display of the written intelligence by the visual display means.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein said movable tive simultaneously with said visual display means for transfer of information thereto at a rate of speed precluding human perception and rewind means rendered operative independently of the visual display means following display of information to restore the apparatus to a start condition.

11. Apparatus for storing and displaying information comprising, elongated optical film means having a plurality of spaced frames thereon, each of said frames including a display portion and a coded signal portion, projection means for optically displaying only the display portions of the frames and simultaneously illuminating the coded signal portion sensing means operatively positioned relative to the film means for scanning the coded signal portions when illuminated, film advancing means for intermittently moving the film means at a rate too high to permit perception of the display portions through the projection means, selector means operatively connected to the sensing means for establishing a signal when the illuminated coded signal portion on a selected frame is sensed, and means responsive to the sensing of the coded signal portion on the selected frame for stopping operation of the film advancing means to permit display of the display portion of the selected frame.

12. Apparatus for storing and displaying information comprising, an optical record having visual and coded information thereon, projection means rendered operative to simultaneously display the visual information and illuminate the coded information on the optical record, power operated means operatively connected to the projection means for energization thereof and simultaneous movement of the optical record in one direction only, a plurality of interconnected optical sensors, selective means mounting said sensors in a selected arrangement operatively related to the optical record for detecting the coded information thereon only when illuminated by the projection means, brake means operatively connected to the power operated means for stopping movement of the optical record when energized, and amplifier means opertively connecting the sensors to the brake means for energization thereof in response to simultaneous detection of coded information by all of the sensors to permit viewing of the visual information.

13. The combination of claim 12 wherein said power operated means comprises, an advancing motor, drive means drivingly connecting said advancing motor to the optical record for movement thereof at a speed too rapid to permit perception of the visual information, a rewind motor drivingly connected to the optical record for movement thereof in a direction opposite to said one direction, and power circuit means connected to said motors for alternatively energizing the advancing motor simultaneously with the projection means or energizing the rewind motor while the projection means is deenergized to prevent energization of the brake means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,121,061 6/1938 Townsend. 2,124,906 7/1938 Bryce 8824 X 3,096,882 7/1963 Tyler 882.8

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

H. H. FLANDERS, V. A. SMITH, Assistant Examiners. 

1. APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING THE DEFINITION OF WORDS COMPRISING; VISUAL DISPLAY MEANS FOR DISPLAYING WRITTEN INTELLIGENCE, INFORMATION RECORD MEANS BEARING SAID WRITTEN INTELLIGENCE AND CODED INDICIA CORRESPONDING THERETO, MOVABLE MEANS OPERABLY MOUNTING SAID INFORMATION RECORD MEANS FOR TRANSFER OF THE WRITTEN INTELLIGENCE TO THE VISUAL DISPLAY MEANS, SELECTIVELY MOVABLE SENSING MEANS RENDERED OPERATIVE BY THE VISUAL DISPLAY MEANS DURING SAID TRANSFER OF THE WRITTEN INTELLIGENCE FOR SCANNING THE CODED INDICIA ON THE INFORMATION RECORD MEANS AND CONTROL MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID TRANSFER OF WRITTEN INTELLIGENCE TO THE VISUAL DISPLAY MEANS FOR RENDERING THE SAME OPERATIVE TO DISPLAY ONLY WRITTEN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDING TO THE CODED INDICIA SELECTED BY MOVEMENT OF THE SELECTIVELY MOVABLE SENSING MEANS. 